Credit

Caption

Image of the Antarctic continent. Antarctica is seen here with its white permanent ice cap. Surrounding it is a slightly pale blue colour indicating the average extent of Antarctic sea ice. The largest areas of sea ice are the Ronne Ice Shelf (left coast) and the Ross Ice Shelf (bottom right coast). The southern tip of South America is seen at bottom left, and the southern extent of Australia at bottom right. The bright blue streak across the continent represents the Transantarctic Mountain range. This photograph is a simulation of space-based imagery.